Shark Meat Nation

Brazil is the world’s largest consumer and importer of shark meat. But it’s not just restaurants and grocery stores — a Mongabay investigation found that the country’s government agencies have purchased thousands of tons of shark meat to serve in schools, hospitals, prisons, military bases, homeless shelters and other public institutions. The findings raise serious environmental and public health concerns because sharks are widely overfished and their meat tends to be high in heavy metals like mercury and arsenic.

Latin America’s largest hospital complex cancels plan to buy shark meat

Brazilian government serves shark to infants, prisoners and more: How Mongabay broke the story

How we probed a maze of websites to tally Brazilian government shark meat orders

Mongabay shark meat exposé sparks call for hearing and industry debate

Revealed: Brazilian state buys endangered angelsharks for school lunches

That ‘fish’ on the menu? In Brazil’s schools and prisons, it’s often shark

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